Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was so disruptive at the facility where he spent two months getting treatment for substance abuse that he was kicked out of his therapy group by other patients, according to a new report by the Toronto Star based on three sources at the GreenStone rehab centre.

“Ford broke things, got into fights with other residents,” one person told the Star.

“Ford stopped people from sharing their stories, which is key to a successful rehab experience,” said another source. “Other residents felt intimidated. They felt he was a bully. He was always saying he did not belong there.”

I can think of any number of reasons why Ford's put rehab in-bounds for reporting. And yet it feels, emotionally, just gross.

The report casts serious doubt over the mayor’s new campaign narrative of having finally come to grips with his problems. Since returning from rehab this month, Ford has repeatedly acknowledged he has a “disease” of alcoholism but refused to answer for much of his conduct while in office, brushing aside questions about his racist and homophobic comments and whether he will cooperate with police drug investigations.

According to the Star, management at the Muskoka rehab centre were worried Ford was continuing to use drugs or alcohol during his time there — an allegation the paper could not verify.

The article elicited mixed reactions when it was published online Tuesday night, with many Toronto residents and journalists worrying an ethical line had been crossed by reporting on his time in rehab. It also raises serious questions about the quality of a rehab centre where patients can possibly still procure drugs and alcohol, but it seems rather unlikely the mayor will answer any questions about that either.

There is, of course, no right or wrong in a case like this. I merely happen to side with the Star.

Of course, the Star isn’t the first newspaper to report on Ford’s time in rehab. Toronto Star columnist Joe Warmington frequently relayed what the mayor told him from GreenStone, which led to several front-page stories including the infamous “Rehab is Amazing” cover.

Since Ford was fine with media coverage of his treatment program when it suited his political needs, it stands to reason that an actual investigation into his time there is also fair game. That, at least, is what Richard Feren says. The Toronto composer is himself a former drug addict and runs the popular Twitter parody account @TOMayorFrod.

“A private citizen is entitled to have their patient confidentiality protected, and their privacy respected,” Feren said in a statement Wednesday, but that rule does not necessarily apply to a public figure who “insists on running for office while using their fresh (and likely incomplete) rehab stint as part of their campaign narrative.”

“When that same public figure goes so far as to speak with a friendly reporter while in rehab… one could reasonably conclude that the public figure in question has voluntarily waived their right to confidentiality,” Feren said.

Rob Ford, happy as a clam in rehab, as seen on the Toronto Sun cover June 2, 2014.